Spring Issue 2012 - Camden Federation of Private Tenants

2 The Camden Private Tenant Follow us on FacebookRenting in LondonLucia Psenakova who had a badexperience renting a studio flat inCamden, investigates how otherprivate tenants from abroad get onwith renting in London.With growing numbers of potential firsttimebuyers priced out of the marketand rising demand for accommodation–many tenants in London have lost hopeof stable rents or good living standards.Increasing amounts of foreign nationalsare also complaining that whereas therest of Europe keeps up with reasonablestandards of rented properties, even introubled times, London seems to havegone up in price but not in quality.After moving to London, Julie Thorp, a21-year-old student from Norway, andher friend were on a quest to find a flatin Camden within their student weeklybudget of £240: “I was expecting to finda pretty good flat as I would have donein Norway.The biggest difference is thestandard in general. You can pay the sameamount for a flat in Oslo, for instance, butthe standard would be so much higher.”Differences in living standards werealso eye-opening for Sanja Ljujic, whooriginally comes from Serbia, but hasalso lived in rented properties in theCzech Republic. The 63-year-old teachercommented: “The quality of rented flatsand houses is poor compared to thequality of buildings on the continent.”When talking about living standards inSerbia she smiles and says: “Properties inmy country are very nice, but what theyare ready to rent here for a huge amountof money, I sometimes can’t believe.” Sanjawas shocked by the state of London’s flats.She sums it up: “Dirty, untidy, such a messand I was thinking who is going to rentthis property if it looks like that.”Maria Norman also found it hard toget used to the lack of cleanliness aftershe swapped her beloved Poland forLondon to study English. Maria, 52, whoworks in a children nursery and livesin Hampstead has previously rentedin Kensal Rise, Acton and Shepherd’sBush. She describes her first attemptat renting in London: “I rented a room,because I was on my own. It was OK forthe money, but it wasn’t as hygienic asI was hoping to find.” When the timecame for Maria and her partner to finda suitable rented dwelling together, sheclearly remembers the struggle. “Thestate of flats – some of them were reallyhorrible – smelly, damp, dirty.”An unpleasant surprise also awaited a29-year-old entrepreneur Gabriel Kobakfrom Slovakia when he first arrived inLondon. He recalls: “I was very surprisedby the size of properties here. They arevery small in comparison to Slovakianstandards.” Although his rentingexperience is positive, he laughs at howLondoners define “spacious”: “They callit a room, but we wouldn’t even call it ashoe cupboard.”Lithuanian Natalia Rymkevic, 34, didn’thave her hopes set too high when shefirst moved to London. “I couldn’t expectmuch as I came on my own with nosupport or fortune. I had to share a verybusy apartment which wasn’t exactlymy dream.” The spirited classroomassistant, who now rents a studio inWest Hampstead, has had her fair shareof moving around, but her experienceis mostly positive. To stay afloat inLondon’s sink-or-swim renting world,Natalia’s personal advice to tenants is:“Pay your rent on time, look after theplace and get good references.”Do You HaveA problemWith DraughtyWindows?Adding a thermal lining to yourcurtains is an easy way to savemoney on your bills and keepyour home warm!If you would like to learn how to make thermal linings foryour curtains without using a sewing machine and take a pairhome, come along to our workshop.Materials are provided for FREE to those on benefits or £5 forall others.When:Thursday 26th AprilWhere: Camden Federation of Private Tenants,11-17 The Marr, Camden Street, NW1 0HETime:12.30 – 3.00pmTo book a place, please call the Green Camden helpline on0800 801 738 or email: greencamden@camden.gov.uk

The Camden Private Tenant www.cfpt.org.uk 5CFPT Members’ Landmark Legal VictoryResidents of Frognal Estate on FinchleyRoad have achieved a landmark legalvictory on the issue of repairs to theirbuildings.Marie Garside, Chair of the FrognalEstate Residents Association, which isa member of CFPT, says that many ofthe problems on the estate are thosefamiliar to other leaseholders - badmanagement, neglect, overchargingand intimidation - but some areprobably unique.Landlord Norman Freed has beendisqualified as a company director butstill tried to control the estate. Actingas manager he took over the residents’parking spaces and tried to turn them intoa public pay and display car park. He hasalso made repeated planning applicationsto add extra storeys to the buildings.In 2009, the residents associationapplied to the Land Valuation Tribunalto have a manager appointed. Thisproved to be a mistake. Bruce MaunderTaylor, who was appointed, decidedthat residents should hand over morethan half a million pounds for repairs.Anyone failing to produce their sharereceived a county court summons. MarieGarside says she almost lost count of thenumber of cases that he brought. Butwhere the residents association helpedwith the defence, he lost.Initially residents turned to thegovernment-funded Leasehold AdvisoryService to mediate, but Maunder Taylorinstead gained a ruling from the LandValuation Tribunal that the charges werereasonable, asserting that if peoplecould not pay they must sell their flats.Many residents, including some whocould afford to pay, were horrified and, onlegal advice, Marie Garside and residentsassociation Deputy Chair Dr Mike Ansontook the matter to appeal in the UpperChamber of the Lands Tribunal.At the appeal hearing in September,Counsel Edward Denehan arguedthat works on the estate and chargesfor them may have been reasonablewithin the meaning of the law. But hemaintained that carrying out all theworks in one contract in such a shortperiod was unnecessary and, thus,unreasonable.Judge Alice Robinson came downclearly on the residents’ side agreeingwith Denehan’s point and reinforcingit with the observation that MaunderTaylor had, in fact, already accepted theassociation’s position when he phasedsome of the charges to be levied in 2010rather than 2009. Thus, the principle forwhich the association was arguing hadalready been established.The appeal decision creates a precedentin case law which may prove vital forleaseholders all over England and Wales.PostscriptIn face of Maunder Taylor ignoring aninvitation to resign, a group of residentstook the issue of having the estatemanager replaced back to the LandValuation Tribunal. A new one, RogerSoutham, has now been appointed, andhis company Chainbow comes highlyrecommended by other leaseholderassociations.Need Help with your Housing ?Camden Council’s Private Sector HousingTeam (PSHT) is specifically tasked withimproving properties in the privaterented sector. By law, private landlordsmust provide accommodation which issafe and free from significant hazards.Sadly this is not the case in many rentedhomes in Camden.When we receive a complaint aboutaccommodation in poor conditionwe investigate and, if necessary, askthe landlord to undertake repairs andimprovements. Should they not undertakeworks voluntarily, we can use powersunder the Housing Act 2004 along withother public health powers to ensureworks are done. This may mean the serviceof legal notices or even prosecution.Recently, we received a referral basedlargely on the dilapidated appearanceof a property. Our officers found morethan 30 foreign students living in ahouse with no evidence of anythingmore than patch-up repairs having beendone since the 1970’s and no adequatefire precautions in place. 9 of 12 boilerswere found to be leaking gas and hadto be condemned. It is likely that onlythe draughty and ill-fitting windowsprevented a fatal case of carbonmonoxide poisoning.All we received was the address of theproperty, but this allowed us to takeaction which probably saved lives.The landlord was prosecuted and theproperty will soon provide greatlyimproved conditions for tenants.Our work mainly comes throughcomplaints or referrals from a smallnumber of tenants and organisations likeCamden Federation of Private Tenants.The most vulnerable tenants also tend tobe the ones least likely to complain, so ifyou – or someone you know – are livingin poor-quality housing, we would reallylike to hear about it.Please contact: 020 7974 4444 ext 4or email us at: ppp@camden.gov.ukand provide details.Sam WaskettEnvironmental Health Surveyor

Or go to www.cfpt.org.uk and join onlineGroup member* £30Name of group*Become a member ofCamden Federation ofPrivate TenantsIndividual student member £5Individual member £10Regulated TenantAssured Shorthold TenantAssured TenantHousing Association TenantLeaseholderOther2 I am a: (please tick one)I/We wish to have annual membership ofCFPT as an:3Phone no EmailAddress1NameAs a member of CFPT you will receive the quarterly newsletter, be kept informed of current housing issues,changes in legislation and relevant campaigns.You will also receive invites to meetings, events and have free access to our office resources.By joining, you are helping to make us a bigger, stronger and more effective organisation.CFPT Needs YouCFPT is the voice of private tenants in CamdenWe work with and support private tenants in Camden toorganise and campaign for better protection, rights and services.We work with the Council to improve standards in Camden’sgrowing private rented sector.We work closely with national organisations such as Shelter,Age UK, Citizens Advice and Friends of the Earth to campaign forchange.We also signpost people to advice agencies, and provideinformation, support and basic advice on a wide variety oftenancy-related issues.If you are interested in getting involved withus you can:Become a member (see the left hand side of this page for detailsof how to join)Become a volunteer (visit our website for more about this)Join the Management Committee (call or email us about this)TranslationCFPT est la voix des locataires dans le secteur privé de lamunicipalité de Camden. Nous travaillons avec les locataires dusecteur privé de la municipalité de Camden et nous les soutenonspour qu’ils s’organisent et mènent une campagne afin d’obtenir unemeilleure protection, le respect de leurs droits et une prestationde services.CFPT es la voz de los inquilinos del distrito de Camden.Trabajamos con los inquilinos del distrito de Camden y lesayudamos a organizarse y a conseguir más protección, derechos yservicios.CFPT é a expressão dos inquilinos privados em Camden.Nós trabalhamos com os inquilinos privados em Camden e lhesdamos apoio para organizar e fazer campanha por melhoresdireitos, serviços e proteção.CFPT waa codka gaarka ah ee ijaartayaasha xaafada Camden.Waxaan la shaqaynaa oo ka caawinaa ijaartayaasha Camden in ay ishabeeyaan uuna ololeeyaan kobcinta amaanka, xaquuqdooda iyoadeega.4DateSignedTotal amount paid £I would like to make adonation of (optional) £Camden Federation of PrivateTenants11-17 The MarrFREEPOST LON12470LondonNW1 2YWPlease fill in your details andsend (no stamp required) withpayment to:Camden Federation of Private Tenants isregistered under the Industrial andProvident Societies Act as The CamdenFederation for Private Tenants LimitedRegistered No: 25086RThe individual views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily thoseof the Camden Federation of Private Tenants.The inclusion of an advert in this newsletter does not imply endorsementby us of the product or service being promoted.Camden Federation of Private Tenants11-17 The Marr, Camden Street, London NW1 0HETel: 020 7383 0151 Email: admin@cfpt.org.uk Web: www.cfpt.org.ukEditor: Robert TaylorDesign: www.intertype.co.uk